In this News Brief:
At the Annual Education Meeting and the CBA Forum this month, the following individuals were elected to serve. We congratulate these members and are grateful for their willingness to serve in these leadership roles!
Are you interested in serving on one of the committees below beginning January 1, 2026?
Learn more about these opportunities on our website. To apply, log into the FSBPT Portal and complete the volunteer application (located under "Members Area > Get Involved). Apply by November 1! Don't see an opportunity that interests you but have ideas you'd like to share? Contact us!
FSBPT continues to refine the Coursework Tool (CWT), updating it to correspond with the latest CAPTE standards and requirements. Dedicated task forces for CWT7 and PTA Tool 3 have collaborated over the past year to make certain that educational equivalency for internationally trained physical therapy practitioners is both robust and fair. These updates aim to minimize discrepancies in evaluating foreign credentials, ultimately strengthening the licensure process for all applicants.
Extensive reliability studies are underway to guarantee consistency in how the new tools are applied across jurisdictions. The anticipated launch date for these tools is January 1, 2027, promising a uniform framework that will benefit both licensure applicants and reviewers.
Each month, we will focus on a different statute section from the Model Practice Act and its accompanying commentary. Learn more by reading the Model Practice Act.
Article 4: Regulation of Physical Therapy
4.10 Reporting Violations; Immunity
A. A person, including but not limited to a licensee [or certificate holder], corporation, insurance company, healthcare organization or healthcare facility and jurisdiction or local governmental agencies, shall report to the board any conviction or determination by an agency or court that a licensee [or certificate holder] has committed an act that constitutes a violation of [Grounds for Denial of a License [and Certificate]; Disciplinary Action, Article 4.04].
B. A person is immune from civil liability, whether direct or derivative, for reporting such facts as set forth in ""A"" above to the board in good faith and participating in the board’s investigation and subsequent disciplinary process, if applicable.
C. The board shall not disclose the identity of a person who provides information unless such information is essential to proceedings conducted pursuant to [Investigative Powers; Emergency Action; Hearing Officers and Hearings, Articles 4.05 and 4.06], or unless required by a court of law.
Commentary
This paragraph provides board authority to directly solicit and require reporting by any individual or organization taking any action against a licensee, certificate holder or applicant related to Grounds for Denial of a License [and Certificate]; Disciplinary Action, Article 4.04. This reporting requirement requires a formal conviction, determination or finding against the regulated individual so as to eliminate the possibility of imposing penalties for unconfirmed violations. This language also requires a licensee to report his or her own legal entanglements that resulted in conviction, determination or finding consistent with the violations contained in Grounds for Denial of a License [and Certificate]; Disciplinary Action, Article 4.04. When jurisdictions adopt these reporting standards they should communicate the reportable grounds to all agencies who shall have taken action against regulated individuals to enhance their understanding and cooperation with the reporting mandates of this section.
This paragraph is a necessary companion to Paragraph A, above, to protect an individual who reports information or findings to the board as long as the reporting is in good faith. A person reporting a false or bad faith claim of “suspected” conduct would not be granted immunity from civil liability.
This paragraph gives the board authority to protect the identity of someone providing information that shall be used in a board decision. There are various disclosure laws that shall govern what a board shall and shall not disclose. Those laws generally focus on the right of an accused to face his or her accuser if an action comes to the point of formal discipline. Board legal counsel will be able to advise boards in these matters. "
FSBPT President David Relling has announced that the FSBPT Board of Directors has selected Susan Newman, current Chief Operating Officer, to succeed outgoing Chief Executive Officer William Hatherill beginning January 2026.
The announcement was shared during the Annual Education Meeting on October 24, 2025. Susan Newman has served as COO for more than a decade, playing a pivotal role in advancing FSBPT’s strategic initiatives, including examination development, membership engagement, and regulatory leadership. Susan brings continuity and a deep understanding of FSBPT’s mission and operations to this important transition. Her appointment reflects the Board’s confidence in her ability to lead the organization into its next chapter.
The FSBPT Board is committed to supporting its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. Join the ranks of states, including Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and the Virgin Islands, that have all taken a big step toward both administrative efficiency and protecting the public. They are currently leveraging FSBPT Grants to enhance the ELDD, improve compact privilege implementation, and collect workforce data.
Your state should be next! Learn more about our available grants to help jurisdictions with enhancing your participation in or communication with our Examination, Licensure, and Disciplinary Database (ELDD), improving compact privilege implementation, or collecting workforce data.
FSBPT offers grant funding to support its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. If you are interested in receiving a grant, please send an email to FSBPT's CEO, William A. Hatherill summarizing what you would like to have funded and why it is important or how it can improve efficiencies for your board.
We are hosting multiple upcoming webinars within the FSBPT Portal, allowing you to easily access member resources, groups, and events all in one place! Be sure to register for these upcoming webinars:
Regulatory Hour with Paul Welk: Expanding PT Practice into Health and Wellness Services November 18, 4:00 p.m. ET Regulatory Hour with Dale Atkinson: A Year in Review December 17, 4:00 p.m. ET To register, please log in to the FSBPT Portal, select "Events," and click on the event you'd like to register for.
Do you know of any individuals or groups that would be interested in receiving our monthly News Brief? Do you have new board members or staff starting in 2025? Or did someone forward this to you, and you'd like to be on our list?
Please send any referrals our way! Contact us via email at communications@fsbpt.org with information, ideas, or suggestions.
We appreciate your collaboration in our effort to further our mission to protect the public.
Regulators play a crucial role in protecting the public, but how much does the public actually know about regulators’ work? This article is based on a presentation at the 2024 Annual Education Meeting by Chris Grecco and Mandy Hall.
A tool to assist regulatory bodies categorize basis (or bases) for disciplinary action.
This month, we thank our generous volunteer members for their support of our mission.
"Why We Can’t Count Our Doctors (And How To Fix It)," Hannah Maxey Courtney Medlock, Health Affairs, September 16, 2025
"Imagine trying to run a Fortune 500 company without knowing how many employees you have, where they work, or what skills they possess. This is exactly how the US manages its health care workforce—with fragmented, incomplete data that leaves federal and state policy makers unable to answer basic questions about who provides care and where."
"Nurses With Doctorates Cannot Tell Patients They’re Doctors, Court Rules," Alicia Gallegos, Medscape, September 29, 2025 "California nurses with doctorates do not have the right to call themselves doctors, a federal court ruled, upholding a state law that regulates what titles health professionals can use in advertisements."
"Making Data Work: Collecting Better Health Care Workforce Data to Inform State Policy and Planning," Milbank Memorial Fund, October 21, 2025
"The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health care workforce shortages across many professions, including primary care physicians, behavioral health professionals, nurses and other direct care professionals. Even before COVID-19, the National Academy of Medicine reported that burnout had reached “crisis levels” among the nation’s health care workforce. Burnout and staffing shortages impact patient care and safety, increase costs (e.g., turnover and use of more expensive options such as traveling nurses), and further constrain access to care. Since the pandemic, health care workforce shortages have remained high and are projected to continue through 2036.1 More than 500 bills related to health care workforce issues were passed by state legislatures in 2024. Despite this, accurate, reliable data on health care worker supply, distribution, and characteristics remains elusive for many states. The lack of workforce information compromises state efforts to fund education, professional development, and other recruitment and retention efforts, even for in-demand professionals such as primary care and behavioral health providers. It also limits states’ ability to plan for future health care needs. This policy brief provides an overview of opportunities to improve state health care workforce data collection and analysis. This brief was informed by interviews with 12 agency leaders and technical experts across seven states and written responses from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Themes from the discussions are shared in aggregate and inform the priorities and considerations."
Members of the board of directors serve as liaisons to multiple jurisdictions.
Stephen Curley Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia
Craig Miller Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah
David Relling Hawaii, New Jersey, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Virgin Islands
Steven Scherger Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas
Michelle Sigmund-Gaines Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
Michele Thorman Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, and Wisconsin
Krista Wolfe Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont
Charles E. Reiter The public member of the board does not serve as a liaison to jurisdictions
FSBPT’s Board of Directors wants members to know staff is available to assist any jurisdiction with writing statutory or regulatory language. When you are crafting new laws or regulations/rules, especially involving FSBPT products such as the NPTE or Coursework Tool, or controversial topics such as dry needling, FSBPT is a resource to remember!
Subject
Point of Contact/Email Address
ADA accommodations
Christine Sousa
Assessment or examination development questions
Lorin Mueller npte@fsbpt.org
Continuing competence
Jeffrey M. Rosa
Credentials review
Jaime Nolan, FCCPT
ELDD- Exam, Licensure and Disciplinary Database participation
eldd@fsbpt.org
Exam registration processing
Foreign educated issues
Leslie Adrian
Immigration
Jamie Nolan
JAM- Jurisprudence Assessment Module
JAM@fsbpt.org
Legislation or Model Practice Act
Meeting arrangements
Paul Delaney
NPDB reports/questions
Angela Burnham
PTC- Physical Therapy Compact
compact@fsbpt.org
PEAT®- Practice Exam & Assessment Tool
peat@fsbpt.org
Reimbursement of expenses and other financial matters
David Sigman, ext. 226
School reports
schoolreports@fsbpt.org
Score transfer & reporting
SCP PET- Supervised Clinical Practice Performance Evaluation Tool
scppet@fsbpt.org
Security issues
Susan Newman security@fsbpt.org
Anything else, including news to share with members
William A. Hatherill Caitlin Jennings Communications@fsbpt.org
From the blooming Azalea Encore Series-covered banks of the Potomac, where the fish are faster, the fishing boats are longer, and the fishermen are still full of stories.